Printing mechanism for computing-machines.



J. E. W. GREVE.

PRINTING MECHANISM FORCOMPUTING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-22. I912.

Patented Nov. 27, 1917.

2 SHEETSSHEET lto Q IMZnEmiz. William Grez/e,

Fl 7709/15 X J. E.W. GREVE.

PRINTING MECHANISM FOR COMPUTING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED Aue.22, 912.

1 ,247,670. Patented Nov. 27, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

DIVE/V7339.

WIN/E6856 JoiznEmil H z'ZZz'aJn Grave I I -wia UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN EMIL WILLIAM GREVE, OF CHEMNITZ, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR TO WANDEREB- WERKE, VORMALS WINKLHOFER & JAENICKE, A. G. OF SCHONAU BEI GHEMNITZ,

GERMANY.

PRINTING MECHANISM FOR COMPUTING-MACHINES.

Patented Nov. 27, 1917.

Application filed August 22, 1912. Serial No. 718,477.

a printing mechanism for computing machines which is particularly adapted for use with machines having complete keyboards from which the zeros. are automatically printed. In machines of this character suitable means must be provided for omitting the automatic printing of the zeros when the machine is divided into a plurality of columns. The present invention therefore, has particular reference to a setting mechanism for dividing the machine, within certain limits, into different columns at will. An apparatus for dividing by means of rotatably mounted pawls adapted to be omitted or inserted at will are already known, but the present invention comprises a new arrangement of the adjustable cutting out mechanism for omitting thepawls.

The invention is hereinafter fully described and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which, a

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the mechanism, only enough of the computing machine necessary to a proper understanding of the invention being shown,

Fig. 2, is a plan view of the setting mechanism,

Fig. 2' is a detail view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 is a type-carrying mechanism, as seen from the front of the machine.

1 is the main shaft of the machine, and carries in the usual manner the hand crank of the operating mechanism. Through the geared sectors 1 and 1", shown in Fig. 1, the movement of the shaft 1 is communicated to the shaft 2, upon which is mounted axle or shaft 3 are loosely mounted the three-armed members or carriers 105, each of'which carries on one of its arms the toothed sector 8, with which the countingmechanism (not shown) is operatively connected. Said carriers or members 105 rest, when in normal position, against a lockbar 105*, and are held in this position by means of springs 127, which tend to turn the members 105 in the direction of the arrow. The lower arms of the carriers 105, (shown broken off in the figure), are connected to projections which operate against the depressed keys of the key-board, (not shown) while the left-hand arms of the carriers are provided with toothed segments 125, which mesh with the rack-bars 125 formed on the lower ends of the type-carriers or type-bars 126. Said type-bars 126 are movable vertically up and guides (not shown), and carry on their up, per ends in a house or frame-like structure the counting type 130, which range from 09, and which, under the influence of'the hammers 128, and in opposition to springs 128 are adapted to operate against the printing-roller or platen D. In their normal positions, the hammers 128 are locked in engagement with the hooked ends 129* of the two armed levers 129, the latter being mounted to rotate on a shaft suitably mounted in the casing. The hammers 128 are provided on their pivoted ends, which are journaled on a shaft 128, with ears, to which are connected the spiral springs128", the opposite ends of the latter being connected to hooked elements on the levers 129. On the free ends or arms of the levers 129 areloosely mounted the bars 132, which are pressed against the type-bars 126 by the leaf-springs 133. Said springs 133 are carried by any suitable supporting rail 133 mounted. on the machine frame. The typebars or carriers are provided with oblique sided notches 131, in which the projections or lugs 132 of the bars 132 enter, and the bars 132 are also provided with the rearwardly projecting lugs 132 which are placed in position to operativeiy connect with the traverse 134 of a yoke. One side arm 134 of the yoke forms one of the arms of a bell-crank lever, whereby the yoke is adapted to be swung or oscillated. On the free end of the bell-crank lever is pivotally connected a straight draw-bar 134, which is slotted at its opposite endand is also provided with an upwardly projecting lug 134. The bars 132 are provided on their lower ends with the transversely projecting lugs or down in .with the bars 132, but are formed as small projections on the ends of small bell-crank levers which constitute the pawls or latches 135. The pawls 135, having the lugs or tips 135, are plvotally mounted on proper bars 132 and are held in normal 13081121011 by means of springs. Behind the bars 132 (the left of said bars in Fig. 1), is a comblike plate (Fig. 2), slidably mounted upon a suitable guide-plate 138. The comb-like plate 137 is adjustable by means of a rotatable bar 139, which is centrally pivoted on the base plate of the machine. Said bar 139 has two upwardly projected arms, one of which engages with downward projection on the plate 137, while the other is connected to a thumb-nut 140 on the key-board of the machine and is controlled thereby, suitable scale being provided for indicating the degree of adjustment of the plate 137.

The operation of the mechanism described as my invention is as follows If the keys are depressed, and the crank is drawn forward, then the lock bar in front of the carriers 105 will be lowered, and the carriers permitted to be pulled down by the springs 127, moving to the extent of the movement of the mechanism governed by the keys. (not shown). During the downward movement of the carriers 105 the toothed segments 125 swing upwardly and raise rack-bars 125, and therewith, the type-bars or carriers 126, until type indicated by the ke s are placed in printing position. It will e here remarked that all of the type-carriers which are not under the controlv of a depressed key are raised until the zero is placed in printing position, although only those bars 132 which lie to the right of a depressed key, and are of a cor-- respondingly lower order are influenced, by means of the lugs 132" as hereinafter described, to couple the bars 132 of a lower order thereto when a key has not been depressed, for the purpose of causing such coupled bars 132 to be actuated to release the printing hammers to print the zeros of a lower order. On the other hand for the keys of a higher order than the depressed keys, while the type bars 126 are raised to zero position, under influence of the key-controlled stepped slide bar (not shown), which are connected to the carriers 105, the releasing bars are not carried therewith, so that the zero printing occurs automatically only for the keys of a lower order, while the zeros of a higher order are not printed. After the type-bars are set, the forward movement of the crank is continued until the motion communicated through the sectors 1 and 1 to the shaft 2 turns the arm 2 in the direction of the arrow until the lug 2 abuts the upwardly projecting lug 134, and moves the latter to the right (Fig. 1). The movement of the bar 134 is transferred to the yoke through the bell-crank lever 134, and the traverse 134* is depressed or lowered. When the type carriers have been sufiiciently elevated, (this is the case with all the type except the zeros), the oblique faces 131 slide over the lugs 132 of the bars 132, whereby the bars 132 are swung outwardly and come within operating range of the traverse 134", so that they will be carried downwardly with the latter on its downward movement. If the bars 132 are pushed downwardly, then the levers 129 swing around their axes, until the hooked lugs 129 are released from the hammers 128. The latter are then actuated by the springs 128", as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 and strike upon type which have been placed in printing position. By means of a bar 128, which may be operated by means of any primary or secondary operative movement of the machine, the hammers can be returned to normal position.

The cut-out portion or notch in the typecarriers having the sides-131 is so designed, that a certain free play is permitted before the oblique sides 131 begin to operate on the bars 132. The free play is of such extent, that the type-carriers, which are only carried upwardly such a distance, as to permit their zero-type to be placed in printing position, do not perform any work on the bars 132. Furthermore, in this position of the type-carriers, the hammers 128 are not adapted to be released. The above refers to the zero positions of an order higher than the highest depressed key. The automatic printing of the intermediate zeros or zeros of a lower order in a number of several.

order therewith, so that such bars 132 of lower order are given the proper motion for releasing the hammers 128.

If the machine is divided, however, for instance, for column work, then the zeros at the right of the left hand column are not automatically printed when the left hand column is printed. In the example chosen for theillustration in Fig. 3, the ma-' chine is divided at three points and the divisions are made on the third, seventh and eleventh lines, so that there are four columns for use. At the different division points, the independent lugs 1,32 are set by means of the pawls or latches 135 to which the lugs are attached as above described. If the machine is not to be divided, then the plate 137, (Fig. 2), is so placed, that the lugs 135 of the corresponding pawls or latches 135 stand opposite the re-- ccsses 137 b of the plate 137. If, on the other hand, the machine is divided into four columns, then the plate 137 must be so positioned, that the lugs 135 of the corresponding pawls 135 stand opposite the-teeth or projections 137. If the bars 132 are swung outwardly, the latches or pawls 135 strike against the teeth or projections 137, whereby the latches or pawls are pressed toward the right (Fig. 1), and their carrying in s 132 are moved far enough downwardly that they are no longer in engagement with the bars 132 of the next lower position, and furthermore, do not carry the latter by reason of the greater outward swing. As a consequence, there is found an interruption of the carrying on of the bars of'the next lower order at the point of division, so that the columns are separated from one another and when a column is printed, there are no zeros automatically printed to the right thereof. It will be noted that the latches 135 are mounted on the bars 132, and so always have the same relative movement as the latter and the lugs 135 bear against the same points on their respective bars. Thus the only movement which can disturb the normal locked relation between a lug 135 and a bar 132 is a rearward movement of the latter, at which time latch 135 abuts against a tooth 137 and can have a sliding movement thereagainst to accommodate the vertical movement of the respective bar 132.

Of course other combinations than the example given can be produced by a different combination of teeth and notches on the plate 137, and different combinations of columns can be formed, without departing from the present invention.

What I claim as my invention is 1. A printing mechanism for computing Copies of this pstent msy be obtained for machines, comprising in combination, a set of type-bars, means for setting the type bars into printing positions, a release bar positioned adjacent each type-bar, means carried by the release bars for normally coupling them for the automatic printing of zeros, a common means for actuating said release bars, means actuated by each typebar for setting its corresponding release bar into the path of the common actuating means, and means for rendering some of said coupling means inoperative to provide plural columns.

2. A printing mechanism for computing machines, comprising in combination, a plurality of type-bars, a corresponding plu rality of release bars, means for elevating the type-bars to differing heights, a common means for actuating the release bars when the latter are set, means carried by the release bars for normally coupling bars of a lower order to automatically print zeros, and means for rendering some of said coupling means inoperative to provide plural columns.

3. Printing mechanism for computing machines, comprising in combination, a plurality of type-bars, means for setting said type-bars into printing positions, a releasebar for each type-bar, transverse extensions carried by said release-bars and overlapping the adjacent bars of a lower order to normally couple them for the automatic printing of zeros, some of said transverse extensitions being movable out of the coupling p0; sition, and an adjustable element adapted to be set in the path of movement of said movable extensions for selectively removingthe latter during printing operation to provide plural columns.

ln' testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN EMIL WILLIAM GREVE.

Witnesses:

SIDNEY RICH, MAX J. BENNDORF.

Washington, D. G. 

